Can you afford a California home? Take that answer to the 2018 voting booth: One-party domination is not good for the state. But Republican voter registration is now 25.9 percent, far below the Democrats’ 44.8 percent, and barely above the 24.5 percent of the electorate who are no-party preference voters. We await the arrival of a well-funded, policy-driven independent candidate, who will be a serious contender for statewide office. That day is nearing.

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Karin Klein: Uber ratings are out of control. A single driver, usually a single passenger, interacting (or not) and judging each other on what it was like to hang out in a small space together. And people actually care about this.

Dan Walters: We don’t know who else might be affected as women press legislative leaders for independent investigations of accusations and more transparency in their outcomes. If nothing else, the scandal and initial lack of supermajorities will dampen what many Democrats had hoped to be a year of major legislation, including, perhaps, big changes in the state tax system to counter the new federal tax overhaul.

Take a number: 78

What’s the future of the California Republican Party? In December 2017, 18 percent of Californians ages 18-34 viewed the party’s leader, President Donald Trump, favorably, and 78 percent view him unfavorably, the latest Public Policy Institute of California survey showed. This is in a time when by most measures, the economy is strong. Comparable numbers from December 2009: 69 percent of California voters ages 18-34 had a favorable view of Barack Obama, compared with 25 percent who had an unfavorable view. And the economy was hurting back in 2009. Obama’s numbers had barely moved in that age group by January 2016, when 68 percent of Californians between the 18-34 had a favorable view of him. Jim Brulte has his work cut out in the new year, and beyond.

Their take

Lexington Herald Leader: The federal government would send aid to clean up and rebuild from a natural disaster. But despite President Donald Trump’s declaration of a public health emergency, too little help has arrived in response to this man-made disaster, one that was abetted by the reluctance of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lawyers to punish pharmaceutical companies for supplying volumes of addictive painkillers so huge that they were clearly bound for illegal diversion. Kentucky is far from alone in this hydra of a crisis that’s brought grief to almost every family and neighborhood. But states are largely on their own to develop solutions.

Syndicates’ take

Albert R. Hunt, Bloomberg: If Democrats win at least one branch of Congress, there will be an investigative feast – with rich targets – of the ethically challenged administration of President Donald Trump, plus a check on presidential actions. Equally significant will be gubernatorial and state legislative contests. These will serve either to complement or counter national policies, and will set the table for redistricting following the 2020 census. The early line is good for Democrats. As the year commences, here’s how it looks.

Frank Bruni: Why universities are targets of conservatives. They share in the blame. Repair is imperative, because the continued competitiveness of the U.S. economy depends on the skills of our workforce, the intellectual nimbleness of our citizens, the boldness of our scientific research and the genius of our inventions. Our colleges and universities are central to that. When they lose support, we all lose.

E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post: In 2018, President Trump’s abuses of power, his indifference to truth and his autocratic habits will be the central issues in our politics. Nothing else comes close.

Mailbag

“Run for the hills! Run for the hills! The pot boogeyman is coming! Never mind that alcohol will cause a mess, as it always does, and kill people across the region.” – Robert Fausett, West Sacramento

“The proponents of the new marijuana law sold the voters on the idea that people would be smoking marijuana in their homes and that it would be regulated and that the state would benefit. Those are all great ideas, they really are – if they were true. Unfortunately, we all know that’s not what’s going to happen.” – Chris Piombo, Lodi

Jim Moore

Democratic pollster Jim Moore died Monday at his home in Apple Hill, after a long illness. Moore, 66, founded J. Moore Methods, Inc., in 1983 and was a primary pollster for the Democratic Party, Gov. Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, John Burton, and former Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Jan Mathews, his long-time partner, asked that condolences and queries be directed to Moore’s friend, consultant David Townsend, 916 444-5701. Townsend said Moore “could always be counted upon to tell you the truth, even if it was bad news.”